Last weekend, when I was on a Facetime call with my brother, he was talking about his job and the issues he was having with some of the places that he picks up skis from. He works for a small company that prepares skis for the customers of various dealers and ski shops. They pick up skis and service them (cleaning, sharpening, waxing) and then they take them back in time for people to get their skis before they go skiing. In the course of the conversation, he mentioned that one of the places he goes to weekly is St. Anton (in Austria).
“What!?” I exclaimed. “That’s where Karin’s girlfriend Olivia is working!” St. Anton is only about 1.5 hours from my brother and it’s one of his regular stops each week. He goes on Tuesdays, in the morning, but he’s only there for about 15 minutes, just long enough to deliver skis and pick up more. So, I messaged Olivia and got the name of the hotel where she is working. John Googled it, and it turned out to be literally right around the block from the ski shop he goes to! I asked Olivia if she would be there on Tuesday morning, and while she wasn’t working, she said she’d be at the hotel.
We arranged that John would try and go see her when he was done at the dealer, and they would take a photo to send to Karin. Who had NO idea about any of this. John has never met Olivia, but he has talked to her on Facetime, when Karin was calling her while we were on Bornholm this past summer. Olivia was totally up for the joke.
Olivia messaged me this morning, asking if he was coming for sure, as she was planning to go skiing soon after after the time we had discussed. I sent him a message and he called to tell me he was only 10 minutes way from the dealer. He had to go there first, so he said to tell her to go ahead and go skiing if she couldn’t wait, and he’d try again next week.
Then he called me back: it worked! He managed to get over to her hotel in time, before she left, and talked to her, and they took a photo, and he even gave her cinnamon buns that he’d brought with him. 😀 The surefire way to a Swede’s heart, especially your niece’s girlfriend, that you’ve never met, haha!
Olivia sent the photo to Karin while he was still there and Karin told me later today that her jaw literally dropped when she saw it. HAHAHA! SUCCESS!
Makes up a little bit for me not being able to be there!
Mood: accomplished
Music: England Dan & John Ford Coley—I’d Really Love to See You Tonight
That’s so fun!!
It was great! and hilarious!